In a striking development, the U.S. military's Southern Command has confirmed that two individuals, believed to be involved in drug trafficking, were killed in a recent airstrike in the eastern Pacific. This operation took place on Monday and marks another incident in a troubling pattern of what some legal experts are labeling as extrajudicial killings by the Pentagon.
The announcement came from General Francis L. Donovan, who recently took command of the Florida-based combat unit. His appointment occurred just last week during a ceremony at the Pentagon, succeeding Admiral Alvin Holsey, who left his position due to reported disputes over the policies governing such military actions.
The U.S. military described the targeted boat as one that was traversing established routes known for narcotics trafficking, emphasizing the ongoing challenges faced in combating drug smuggling in these waters. Following the strike, the U.S. Coast Guard was dispatched to search for any potential survivors, highlighting the immediate humanitarian concerns intertwined with military operations.
This latest strike adds to a growing tally, with reports indicating that at least 130 individuals have lost their lives across 38 similar operations, as compiled by the Intercept. The numbers raise significant ethical and legal questions about the nature of these military actions.
On the same day, U.S. military forces executed an operation involving a sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean. This vessel had been tracked from the Caribbean Sea as part of a strategic oil quarantine aimed at exerting pressure on Venezuela. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth explained that Venezuela has been under U.S. sanctions affecting its oil industry, which has led to the use of a network of ships with false flags to illicitly transport crude oil into global markets. Following a high-profile raid aimed at apprehending former President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, many tankers, including the one boarded in the Indian Ocean, fled the region.
Hegseth expressed a firm commitment to detaining all such vessels, stating emphatically to shipyard workers in Maine that he had instructed military commanders to ensure that none of these ships escape capture. "I don’t care if we have to go around the globe to get them; we’re going to get them," he asserted.
The Trump administration has notably seized seven tankers in its broader strategy to dominate Venezuela’s oil resources. However, the Aquila II, a Panamanian-flagged vessel implicated in transporting illicit Russian oil, has not yet been formally seized. Instead, it remains under U.S. observation while decisions about its future are made, according to a defense official who requested anonymity for candidness regarding operational matters.
Ship tracking data reveals that the Aquila II is registered to a company based in Hong Kong and has frequently operated with its radio transponder disabled—a tactic commonly employed by smugglers to conceal their location. This vessel was among at least 16 tankers that fled Venezuela last month, as documented by Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, who utilized satellite imagery to trace their movements. Current information indicates that the Aquila II is not carrying any crude oil at this moment.
The Pentagon's social media post described the incident as a right-of-visit maritime interdiction, emphasizing the Aquila II's defiance of President Trump’s quarantine measures against sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.
"It ran, and we followed," the Pentagon stated. While specific details regarding the military forces involved remain undisclosed, sources confirm that the destroyers USS Pinckney and USS John Finn, along with the mobile base ship USS Miguel Keith, were active in the Indian Ocean during the operation.
Video footage released by the Pentagon shows uniformed personnel boarding a helicopter that departed from a ship resembling the Miguel Keith, with additional visuals capturing a naval destroyer accompanying the tanker. This comprehensive approach reflects the complexities and controversies surrounding U.S. military operations in international waters.
